65
drank Cotton Candy by Della Terra Teas
1578 tasting notes

Number two from my Della Terra order! If nothing else, this tea is adorable – I love the sprinkles. Mine has these weird little pastel-colored squishy spheres in it. They’re about peppercorn size and they feel spongy when I squeeze one. I’m not sure what they are, Della Terra’s website says that the add-ins can change due to availability. I didn’t go as far as to eat one… There are also little baby sugar crystals dyed in pastel colors. Cute! The dry tea smells very strongly of rooibos with some kind of weird sour note and maybe a tiny bit of sugar. Very strange. I brewed two teaspoons for 5 minutes because in my last experience, the tea wasn’t strong enough with the recommended amount.

The brewed tea smells like rooibos and… cherry lozenges? This was not a flavor I expected to find. There’s also a quiet note of spun sugar in the background somewhere. When I first tasted the tea, it kind of just tasted like rooibos. So then I added a teaspoon of sugar and I think that really helped the flavoring, because it got extremely sweet (sweeter than I would expect from the amount of sugar). I definitely taste the rooibos, but thank goodness there is no cherry lozenge here. I do get spun sugar from this, but there’s also some kind of vanilla-esque flavor. Then there’s something that reminds me of a mildly fruit flavored hard candy. This is extremely sweet, and anyone who doesn’t enjoy rooibos is certainly not going to like it. I happen to like rooibos, so I am finding it very tasty. I’ll definitely play with steep times just to see how it affects the level of rooibos versus flavor.

Flavors: Candy, Cotton Candy, Rooibos, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron! I’m a 30-year-old software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, bento, baking, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is collecting hobby related-things… ;)

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I will often sweeten iced tea. I brew Western style, and fluctuate between using mugs or teapots with small cups depending on the season. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I also use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Current Subscriptions:
52teas
Bird & Blend
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Sips By

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, and oolong varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially mango and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura and chamomile. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

Favorite Purveyors:
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Kusmi
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre
Yunnan Sourcing

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age.

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/cam...

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